4B Movement

By  Melva Taslim

May 22, 2024

Have you ever wondered what the 4B movement is? 4B or “Four No’s” is a radical feminist movement which has been around South Korea since 2019. It all starts with ‘bi’ which means ‘no’. ‘Biyeonae’ means no dating men, ‘bisekseu’ means no sex with men, ‘bihon’ means no marriage, and the last one is ‘bichulsan’ which means no child-rearing.

Most of the people who practiced this were women. Women nowadays didn’t need a man to support them financially again. This time is a modern time and not only men can go to work, but women do too. Most modern women didn’t want to depend on men 100%. We can say that they don’t think the patriarchy system is a good system to do nowadays. In the past, they didn’t treat women how they are now. Still the same, that’s why women aren't really interested in dating.

Actually, the reason is not only because women want to be independent, but also they need to pay rent and everything. Things in South Korea are so expensive and to pay for themselves is quite painful, so having a child is a no for young adults. Secondly, properties in South Korea are so expensive, and inflation is getting crazy every year. It makes it hard for young adults to survive even for themselves.

This not only impacts South Korea but most countries in Asia are in the same phase and some countries started to follow the 4B movement. Countries like China, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia too are having these problems. Birth rates in South Korea and other countries in Asia keep decreasing every year and it is predicted that it will go down again in a few years. The government in South Korea has started to make a solution, but it didn’t interest any of their citizens. We can just hope the inflation is reduced so people can try to have children.

Source: South Korea's 4B Movement